


+BURST+

by sasterisk



Category: Battle For Dream Island (Web Series), Inanimate Insanity (Web Series)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:15:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 11,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23433028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sasterisk/pseuds/sasterisk
Summary: (⚠️WARNINGS: Swearing, Self Harm/Suicide, Abuse, Sexual Implications, Drug/Alcohol Use. I will put warnings at the beginning of chapters with these topics involved.⚠️)Item High School. For Balloon, it's also known as Hell, but things begin to change when someone new enrolls. Will it be for the better, or for the worse?Note: This was originally written on Wattpad by yours truly, Saster!
Relationships: suitloon
Comments: 3
Kudos: 31





	1. +Prolouge+

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ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ＢＵＲＳＴ  
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The metal door handles were cool from the morning darkness as I made my way into the hell that is known as Item High School. The harsh fluorescent lights made me squint for a moment, before my eyes adjusted. First day of Sophomore year, I had gotten my schedule and other things on the "welcome back" day, about a week ago. I grabbed the piece of paper to find which locker was mine.

"Number 164.." I muttered to myself, and I looked up, seeing the large crowd of students. I felt a shiver roll down my spine as I weaved through the crowd, getting shady looks and whispers from the students.

"What a freak."

"Remember what he did to everyone?"

"He bullied my friend in middle school.."

...

Why does my past follow me like this...

I showed no emotion as I walked past, and I went into the English wing, finding my locker rather quickly. I muttered the combination to myself as I unlocked it, swinging open the rusty, green door. I set my backpack down, unzipping it and grabbing the two textbooks I had, one for Chemistry and one for History. I put them on the top shelf of the locker, and then shut it.

"Hi!" I hear a voice, looking up. I see a girl with long, brown hair with a golden-yellow streak running down the side.

"You're speaking to me?" I mutter, causing her to raise an eyebrow, and I quickly continue, "H-hello."

"My name is Suitcase, and-uh-I'm new here," she looked down at a piece of paper in her hand, "I-I'm trying to find my seminar class, do you know where room 213 is?"

I look at the schedule, "Oh, you have the same seminar as me."

"Oh really? We can just go together then, I guess." She smiled, "What's your name, by the way?"

"I'm Balloon."


	2. +1+

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"So, what's it like here? Are people nice-Well, I-I mean you are of course, b-but what about the rest?" She seemed a little nervous for her first day here, her dark, hazel tinted eyes darting around the hallway as I zipped up my bag and swung it over my shoulder. I would be nervous if it were me. Actually.. I'm nervous anyways.

"Well.." I began to mutter, almost whispering, "if you don't have my history, I suppose it's nice."

"Hm?"

"I-I mean-it's nice here, yeah." I lied.

We arrived at room 213. I had never had this teacher yet, so I didn't exactly know what I was getting into, but Suitcase was hopeful, so I decided to be hopeful as well.. which was a mistake.

As soon as I entered the room, the hope drained from me. I saw the faces of Nickel and Baseball, the two people in this school that despised me the most.

Nickel, short, tan, gray tipped hair and nose and ear piercings. He either wore sweatshirts or tank tops and there was no in between that I had ever seen, other than picture days. I've memorized the location of his favorite climbing tree, and I avoid it entirely. Baseball, large, pale, nearly white-blond hair, and always wearing his red baseball cap. Stitches on the side of his head from an unknown event, which he never speaks of, so it's constantly up for speculation.He is well known for his athleticism.. and size...

I tried to change my behaviors from middle school last year, but barely anyone took me seriously, especially them. I didn't have friends before, but at least I interacted with them.. Now no one even speaks to me. I know they talk about "me," but that's not me.

They see me, and Nickel whispers something to Baseball. I frown, but go and sit down next to Suitcase. She looked at me, then at Nickel and Baseball, then back at me.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nono-I'm fine, it's nothing."

"Alright.." she says.

The door then slams open. A man, white haired, blue eyed, and wearing a bow tie, scurries over to the teachers desk carrying a stack of papers.

"H-hello there, students! Give me just a moment, oh dear-" he says.

Suitcase leans over towards me, and whispers, "is that our teacher?"

"I suppose," I whisper back. The air felt of second hand embarrassment as he stumbled to the front of the room, holding a small note card and adjusting his glasses.

"Hi-no-W-Welcome! Welcome to Item High," he stuttered, "I'm your seminar teacher, Mr. Flush, but just call me Toilet." He turned on the digital board that every classroom had, showing a slideshow that I had seen last year. It was mostly the same, other than some year changes and such. Boring..

The bell then rung. I got up, and turned to Suitcase, who was staring out the window.

"Uh, Suitcase?" I tapped her shoulder.

She jumped a little, and then a red tint of embarrassment lit up her face, "Sh-Oh, sorry, I zoned out," she grabbed her golden-colored backpack, heading towards the door, "I'll see you at lunch, yeah?"

I paused for a moment, taken aback, "S...s-sure!" I smiled, for the first time in a while..

"Alright, later!" She waved, going into the hallway. 

Things feel so.. different. I can't pinpoint exactly what.. but..

I think I've made a friend. A real friend...

Hopefully...

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 596+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	3. +2+

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The lunch bell rang, and all the students in the class got up quickly, exiting at about the same pace. Thank god, I was starving, as I wasn't able to eat dinner last night and I just had a granola bar from the cabinet this morning. My family, though small, is.. not well off. My mother has to work a lot, and when she's home, well.. I still don't get to eat much..

"Hey Balloon!" I snap out of my thoughts, turning to see Suitcase had appeared next to me in the crowded hallway, "How's it going?"

"I-I'm doing alright," I gave her a small grin, "I'm so hungry right now, though."

"Yeah, same," she laughed a bit. I doubt she was as starved as me, but I wouldn't argue about that. Besides, wearing hoodies hides it well enough, and I don't want to frighten her away, "I was able to make some more friends, by the way!"

"Oh really? With who?"

"Well, the two guys you were staring at in seminar came up to me. Nickel and Baseball."

I felt a coldness waft over me, "They..s-Suitcase, those guys are bad news!"

"They seem fine to me," she retorted, "and they told me that you were bad news, too."

I sighed in defeat, "of course they did.."

"I mean, what even happened between you guys?" She asked.

"They didn't tell you?"

"No. No they didn't."

I blinked. I would've thought they'd have spilled everything from the past years. Now I had a tougher question, though. Do I tell her? N-no, not yet at least. She will find out eventually, I'm sure of it. But for now..

"It doesn't matter, let's just go eat." I said as we entered the cafeteria, which smelled of warm food, but also of garbage. It had a love-hate relationship with the entirety of the school.

"...ok, if you say so.. but," It suddenly felt as if the flow time became thick like honey, moving slower. She grabbed my shoulder and turned me towards her, "if you need to talk about something, just let me know."

I felt an odd jump in my heart, and my throat clenched a little. She then smiled, taking her hand away from me, and turned to go find a place to sit. The world turned back to normal speed, and I remained in the lunch line.

This feels.. different...

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count:415+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	4. +3+

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After lunch, Suitcase and I had parted ways to go to our separate classes. It was now the end of the day, the last bell having rung roughly 30 seconds ago. About half of the student collective, including me, travelled along the hallway towards the bus lineup. Upon opening the door, the bright natural sunlight hurt my eyes, and a gust of air whipped at my cheeks. It was warm, but it had a crisp autumn breeze undertone that smelled of wet leaves and mud. It must have rained while we were all inside, as I then noticed the puddles on the sidewalk.

Before I could realize, I was standing in front of the bus I take home. I climb on, sitting near the front and putting my earbuds in, playing Linger Longer by Cosmo Shelldrake. It was a powerfully tranquil song, as I'd describe it, but the artist isn't well known, other than a different song of his being used in a Meeple commercial. I stare out the window as the other students file into their buses, and I see Suitcase chatting with Baseball and Nickel. Bitterness rose in the back of my throat, but I choked it down, seeing her get onto a nearby bus, and the other two walking away to whatever bus they ride.

I sigh, looking down at my phone for another moment until I hear tapping on a window. My gaze catches the eye of Suitcase in the bus next to me at the traffic stop. She waves at me with a bright smile, and I hesitantly wave back as her bus takes a right turn. I look out to it for a moment, and then I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the window. My face is oddly red, and I hadn't stopped smiling until I noticed. I put a hand over my mouth, trailing off in thought..

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count:322+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	5. +4+

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Walking on the cracked concrete path, my step a little shaky, as was my breath. Coming home was always something that got my adrenaline pumping. The route to my home was a complicated one, as the apartment building was on the edge of town, and the buses could not get all the way there. A few people also lived in the same apartments as me, but I did not know them well. I walked up the stairs to the second floor, and I approached the door which had the faded gold numbers reading 216. My mother and I lived here ever since my father was arrested for drug use. I'm surprised they never caught my mother for that same crime, but my mother is an expert at hiding things and manipulation. I sort of admire her in that way, but I know better than to allow her to get the better of me. As soon as I enter the house, I look at the shoe tray. Mom is not home. Seeing this, I decide to sit on the couch and check my phone. It's 2:45, and though my stomach grumbles, I don't dare to take anything from the pantry or the fridge.

I tend to play Minecraft a lot, as it's gained popularity again recently, and I enjoy creative things. I go onto a world where I've been building a big western city in a mesa biome. I continue construction of the local bar, and about half an hour in, I see "_GreeneyLeaf_ joined the world." We have been collaborating on this build for about 2 months, playing almost every weekend. She's a good friend of mine, but we go to different schools, and I've only ever met her once in reality. Despite the people who know about us thinking that we are, we aren't dating. We're too good of friends to do that, and besides, our lives aren't connected enough for it to be a logical option. I get onto discord and call her.

"Hey Leafy!"

"Hey Balloon! How's it going?"

"It's going alright, just got out of school. I met this new girl today and she seems uh.. nice-pretty nice"

"Oh yeah? Sounds cool! Wish I could say the same, but everyone still hates me as usual." She said with a bitterness, "By the way, how's the Bar coming along?"

"It's looking like a Wild West movie, man."

"Perfect! Oh, don't forget to get the sheriffs office fixed after that explosion."

"Yeah yeah, I didn't mean to blow it up-"

"What a tragedy!" she said, a dramatic western flair added, "the poor sheriff will never be the same again!"

"Eyyyy shad ap!!" I added a totally out of nowhere mobster accent, as it was a running joke between us. For the next 5 minutes we just said "ey shad ap!" back and forth. It was fun, and when I looked at the clock it was suddenly 6:30. I decided to cook something for dinner, saying goodbye to Leafy.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 503+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	6. +5+

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I had made some scrambled eggs, as it seems that was all we had in the house. It was now about 7:06, about 15 minutes until mom gets home. I take my dishes and put them in the sink, washing off whatever was left on them, and I grab my backpack and head down to the basement.

The basement was my room, my hideaway, my "Balloon-Cave," if you will. It looked a little ugly when I first moved down there when I was about 12, as opposed to my old room. I moved out because the roof had collapsed in on that room, and we didn't have a lot of money to fix it. The walls were made of chipped concrete, but I did my best to spice them up with posters, paintings, and notes. I had a dusty old mirror on the back of the wooden door, it worked for what little purpose it served. I don't like looking at myself, my ginger, curly unkempt hair and brown eyes remind me of my father, who also had ginger hair and brown eyes, but my mother gave me the curly hair. I had my own bathroom, which was nice, but the tiles were a little moldy and the mirror in there was broken. I can't remember how exactly it was broken, but I know that I was having a breakdown when it happened. My bed sat in the corner of the room, pale blue sheets and a quilt made of many different colors. The bed frame was old and worn down, it occasionally gave me splinters when I worked at the white desk that sat right next to it. I had a beanbag and a couch on the other side of the room, though they aren't ever used by anyone other than me. I had a TV there as well, but the best word to describe it was dated. A big body shape. It didn't work for anything other than playing a Wii, as well.

I sat on the beanbag with a sigh, dropping my backpack next to me. I felt an unease rising in my gut again, and that's when I heard the door open. I stayed relatively quiet, listening as her footsteps lead to the kitchen, and I heard the cupboard being shut. I assume she's drinking and decide to lock my door and just stay here. I look over to my desk, a little drawing and music wouldn't hurt. My earbuds begin to play music as I get out a piece of paper.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 428+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	7. +6+

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I woke up, my head on my desk and one earbud in. I must've fallen asleep. Judging by the clock, it's about four in the morning, two hours until I have to go to school. Raising my head slowly, I rub my forehead, groaning. I look down at the piece of paper, which sported scribbles that I couldn't really make out. I tried to stand up, my vision blacking out for a moment, but I managed to go and brush my teeth and actually get ready to sleep. It was cold in this basement of mine, so I put on a sweatshirt. I walked back over to my bed, looking at the drawing again. It was of a girl wearing a sundress in a forest. It made me smile, though I don't exactly know why, and I flopped down into the bedsheets.

What felt like a second later, my alarm went off. I looked at it confusingly, seeing it was now 6:00. I must've slept more, but it didn't really do anything. I got up once more, putting on a pair of jeans and a sleepy, reddish-brown sweatshirt. I donned my backpack again, and a light winter jacket, although it was still fall. The weather in Michigan is bipolar, honestly. The Great Lakes tend to mess with the climate, lake effect snow and all. You never know what's coming. I climbed up the stairs and went to the kitchen, pulling open the old wood cabinet. The hinges creaked in complaint, and I took a granola bar, shutting the grumpy door. Upon doing so, I heard a sound come from outside. An animal, I figured, nothing I need to worry about. I looked at my phone clock, bright white numbers reading 6:17.

I stumbled over to the door, bags under my eyes, and I opened the much more friendly sounding screen door, stepping out into the cool morning frost. The dawn greeted me, the leaves of the large birch tree outside my home whistling in the light winds. The bus stop was right in front of the apartment complex, thankfully. I decided to take the cold, concrete stairs rather than the elevator. I'm pretty sure that thing would break with me inside, anyways. I walked along the sidewalk, still cracked from yesterday, and the day before that, and the week and month and year before that. I saw the other students waiting, and joined in with the crowd. The bus soon screeched to a halt, and I boarded to travel to every teenagers nightmare; school.

  
ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 427+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	8. +7+

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A few weeks went by, with the highlights of each day being hanging out with Suitcase, whether it was during lunch, class, or chatting in the halls. Its great having someone there with me, by my side, but something still makes me wary. I'm still cautious about what I say and how I act, it's to the point where I'm getting annoyed with myself over obsessing over these small things. But this is all besides the point, I'm walking into school. It's now October, meaning the school has dawned a spooky appearance. I like Halloween, but it wouldn't be the first time I'd admit that I'm a huge wuss. I get scared pretty easily,when it's the right thing, of course. I'm basically a coward in every sense of the word. Every year since 7th grade, Nickel and Baseball pull a daily prank on me the week before Halloween, and it has me on my nerves the entire week.

Anyways, as I walk to the lunch room, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, startling me. I fumble for a minute before I finally feel it, and I pull it out of my hoodie. It's a text from Suitcase,

Casey: Hey, I was talking to my friend and they're hosting a Halloween customer party next week Saturday  
Casey: Costume* I swear autocorrect was a mistake  
Casey: Anyways I was planning on going, do you want to go with me?

My hands shook for a moment, I was on edge because of the annual prank week, so for all I know it could be a trick. But it's Suitcase, I trust her. I typed out my reply.

Me: yeah sure, I'll go  
Me: what time?

I arrived at the lunch table before her, as she usually did show up after me.

Casey: 8pm to 2am, it's kinda leave whenever you want I guess lol  
Casey: Oh also do you wanna hang out after school? We can work on that history project at my house lol

Me: anything to get out of the house, lmao-

Casey: alright cool  
Casey: Hey look up :)

I felt something behind me as she sent that, and I looked up. Something hit me in that moment, something about Suitcase.

When I looked up, I was greeted by her gold-laced eyes and a sweet, playful smile. I realized she looked like autumn and spring at the same time, the tender, loving demeanor of dewdrops on flower petals, but also the crisp, breezy air of fall.

"Hey Balloon!" She patted my head, and then went around the table and sat across from me. I noticed I had been staring, and I looked down at my leg, turning red from embarrassment.

"Hey-"

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 454+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	9. +8+

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"How's it going?" She asked me, "you look kind of..red."

"I-I'm fine," I lied, "how are you?"

"Eh, tired," she had a thermos that was filled with, from what I could smell, tea. She would bring tea when she pulled all nighters, which I would tell her not to do, but that would make me a hypocrite. Most highschool students that cared about their grades have pulled an all nighter at some point in their life.

"What were you up studying for?"

"Oh, I wasn't studying, I.." she paused, thinking, "I was on the phone talking to a friend from my old school, and I lost track of time."

"Yeah, I've done that before," I sighed, "Well not the 'old school' part of it. Do you mind me asking where you used to go to school?"

"I went to a school in Yoyle township, before now."

Yoyle township? That's where Leafy lives..

"Oh, neat! I have a friend from there too, her names Leafy, we play Minecraft together."

"I know Leafy, she talks about that minecraft world all the time!" She leaned forward, grinning, which made my face heat up a bit.

"W-were you talking to he-her last night?" I stutter.

"Yeah, she was catching me up on the happenings back there, and I talked about y- m-my time here."

"Are you having a good time here so far?" Part of me sensed that she missed her old hometown, but I hoped she at least was happy here.

"Yeah, I'm glad I've met you," she murmured, her cheeks dusted pink. I stared for a second, before quickly agreeing, and then she said, "We should get to seminar."

"Yeah, we should."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 285+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	10. +9+

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The shrill ringing of the final bell had passed about five minutes ago, and I was standing outside near the buses, waiting for Suitcase to emerge from the flowing river of people exiting the school. She said that she would meet me here during lunch, and over text. I stared at my phone, occasionally glancing up. A feeling of anxiety sat on my chest like an elephant, which made my breathing uneven. Why is my face warm?

"Balloon!" I heard that honey-fuzz voice, and I looked up. I was met with a hug, which almost knocked us both over, and she grinned up at me, "How are you?"

"I-I'm alright," I laughed a bit nervously, "do you- do you hug all of your friends like that?"

She stepped back and blinked, looking down, "Well, n-no I guess not.." and she went silent for a moment. Trying to avoid the awkwardness, I piped up;

"S-so uh, which bus is yours?" I asked her, though from me being observant (and asking) I already knew what bus she rode.

"Oh I didn't take the bus today," She mischievously smirked, which made my heart race for some reason.

"H-how are we-"

"I have pegs on my new bike," She pointed over to the bike rack, about half empty, "Come on, lets go!" We walked to a sunshine-yellow bike with wicker basket at the front, and the aforementioned pegs on the back wheel.

She put the lock into the basket and hopped onto the bike, looking back at me, "Hop on."

"O-oh okay," I stuttered, stepping onto the pegs and then I paused, "What.. What am I supposed to hang on to?"

"Me, stupid!" She teased, and I felt myself turn red-faced. I shakily put my hands onto her shoulders, and she started to pedal. I quickly realized that the shoulders were not the best holding option.

"S-Suitcase, this seems- this is a little unstable!-"

She stayed quiet for a moment before answering, "Hold onto my waist then!"

I did as I was told, telling myself to stop overreacting. I was glad that she had tied her hair back, because then the wind would be slapping it in my face. The ride was surprisingly comfortable now, despite my racing heart. It seemed like time passed quicker, because we stopped in front of a small, arts-and-crafts- style house. It was now when my odd knowledge in architecture came into mind. We both got off of the bike, and she wheeled it into the garage.

"Here, we can just go in through this door," She opened up a door from the garage leading into the house.

"Alright," I followed her inside. We entered into the kitchen/livingroom, which was decorated with wooden things, lots of wooden things. It was cute, it suited her.

"My mom is at work right now, she won't be home until around eight, so we have plenty of time to work. Did you bring the textbooks?" I nodded in response.

"Cool, let's go upstairs then!" She walked away, leaving me standing there in thought.

I've never been in a girls room before...

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 530+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	11. +10+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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The scent of vanilla seemed to waft out of the room as I opened the door. The room had dandelion-colored walls, with a window on the wall opposite to the door. My bed had a wooden frame, carved with designs, and sunflower-patterned sheets, and there were a few various stuffed animals on it. A white shelf sat above it, with a scented reed diffuser in a short bottle and other memorabilia. There was a brown futon and a beanbag facing a TV on a dresser, which I leaned my backpack against.

"Your room is pr-pretty," Balloons voice appeared from behind me.

I hung up my coat on one of the hooks near the door and I turned around, "Thanks! It's only so neat because of moving here recently, though." He nodded, and he slouched, standing there for a moment. It was obvious he didn't know what to do with himself, "You can sit over there on the futon," he stiffened, "I'll take your coat, if you'd like."

"O-oh, right, thanks," he gave a nervous smile, taking off the black puffer jacket and handing it to me. He was wearing a red striped t-shirt underneath, which suited him in my mind.

I hung his jacket onto a hook, "Do you want anything to eat or drink? Usually I'll eat something and take a break before doing homework, you know?"

"Yeah, I'll just have water, please."

"Alright, I'll be right back." I said with a grin, going out the door and shutting it behind me.

As soon as I heard the door click, I let my heart rate rise and I felt myself uncontrollably smiling, covering my mouth with my hand. I told myself to calm down, and I walked down the stairs to the kitchen. It only took a few minutes to get two cups of water and a bag of popcorn, and I headed back up the stairs to my room.

Opening the door, I set the cups and the bag onto the coffee table, and then I sat next to Balloon "You wanna play a game? I have a switch, its hooked up to the TV."

"Yeah, sure!" He seemed to loosen up, which made me smile, "What games do you have?"

"Mariokart, Snipperclips, Super Smash Bros, those are the good multiplayer ones, at least."

"Lets do Smash Bros, I haven't played that in a while!"

"Alright, I have to warn you I'm pretty good, though," I smirked, turning on the TV and taking the controllers off of the switch. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was about 3:00. 'We can start working at 4, that seems like a good time...'

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 463 +  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	12. +11+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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"Haha! I was waiting to spike you like that!" I grinned victoriously as the screen read 'Pac-man Wins!'

"This is nothing like Brawl, you have a clear advantage!" Balloon laughed, fake-pouting. I playfully punched his shoulder.

"Yeah, Meta Knight isn't OP anymore, so maybe that's why you can't win."

Balloons eyes drifted towards the window, "Uh, what time is it?"

I looked at the clock, which read 6:47. I felt a hole open in my stomach.

"We gotta work on our history project!" I stood up sharply. The thought had completely slipped from my mind due to the video games.

"Alright, well let's get started, right?"

"Yeah, I have the slideshow half done," I pulled out my laptop from my backpack, sitting back down on the couch, "and we can work on the poster together once I finish this, I have the supplies in my closet," I pointed to a door on the wall.

"O-oh, alright then," there was a slight hesitation as he went over to the door. I opened up the slideshow, titled 'The Industrial Revolution,' and I began to work on it.

A moment later, Balloon was on the floor in front of me, working on the poster board. I couldn't help myself, and I peeked behind my computer screen at him. His face was dusted in freckles, but he was surprisingly very clear skinned. He also had his very curly, red hair, which I initially thought was dyed but apparently it is natural. His amber eyes expressed that he was deep in thought, and he stuck out his tongue slightly. I wonder what he's thinking about?...

"..uhm, Suitcase?"

"W-what?.."

"You're staring... a-at me," Balloon's cheeks grew pink.

"I.. S-Sorry, I was zoning out."

"It's ok, how close are you to done with the slideshow?"

"Almost there," I grinned, "I can finish the rest later, let's get this poster done."

"Oh, alright then!" He moved himself to the side a little, and I moved to sit on the floor next to him.

"I went ahead and put the title on, as well as the drawing that's required," he said, gazing over at the rubric. The poster caught my attention, the title had been done in an industrial style, with little screws and metal bits decorating it, and the drawing of the steamboat was amazingly detailed.

"Balloon," I turned to him, and I pointed at the drawing.

"I-is it not good?" I saw a panicked look flow over him, which made my heart crack.

"No! It's so good, I love it! Balloon, you did such a good job! How come you never told me you could draw?"

His worry quickly shifted into a fluster, his face turning red, "O-oh, th... thank you, S-Suitcase.. b-but it's not that good-"

"Balloon, shut up and take a compliment!" I giggled, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I swear people just can't accept that they're good at things sometimes."

Balloon simply nodded, turning back to the poster.

"You better be taking that compliment! I mean it!" I pretended to be mad, stifling a laugh as I spoke. He seemed to get the message, and then... he smirked...

"What if I don't want to?"

I gasped, "Balloon you're going to get in trouble if you don't accept that you're a cool person who's good at stuff."

"What kind of trouble?" His smirk was starting to get my heart racing.

"I'll be sad and I'll hit you," I made it sound really bad, but he wasn't fazed.

"Do it then, not like it's the first time-" I interrupted him by lightly slapping his face and swiftly turning my back on him, crossing my arms.

"That's what you get," I looked over my shoulder at him and traced my finger from my eye to cheek, like a tear drop.

He sighed, "Ok, ok, I accept the compliment."

"What was it again? Say it."

He shook his head, "I'm a cool person that's good at stuff."

"Thank you," I smiled, "alright now we actually have to get work done."

"R-right-"

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 692 +  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	13. +12+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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The sun began to set outside my window, painting the room in a golden tone. I glanced at the clock, which read 7:56 PM.

"That should be it," Balloon held a paper in his hand, looking down at it, "We've checked off everything from the rubric."

"Nice! Thanks for coming over to help," I grinned. Almost as if on cue, I heard the door open, "oh, that must be my mom."

"O-oh, is she fine with me being here?"

"Of course, she trusts me, and it was for school purposes." I stood up, heading towards the door with Balloon in tow. I went down the stairs, seeing my mom setting her bags on the kitchen counter.

"Hi, mom!"

"Hey, Suitcase!" She gazed up to me, and then her eyes drifted to Balloon, "who's this?"

"This is Balloon, he was here helping me finish that project for history I told you about."

"Oh, right. Well, hello, I'm Ms. Packers, any friend of Suitcases is a friend of mine!"

"Alright, alright, well we're going back upstairs," I smiled awkwardly and softly elbowed Balloon up a stair.

"Are you going to be staying for dinner, Balloon?"

"Uh," Balloon hesitated, "Y-you really don't have to, miss."

"Nonsense, you're welcome to stay if you want to. I'll let you think about it, and call your mom, if you need to."

"Thank you, miss." Balloon have her a sympathetic smile, though something seemed to sting inside of him. We both headed back up the stairs, where I felt a buzz in my pocket and I felt a lump of anxiety appear in my throat.

"I-I'm going to the bathroom, you can just sit in my room." I turned to Balloon, who simply nodded and entered my room. I went across the hall and into the small, pale peach bathroom.

I took out my phone, seeing a message from Leafy. I moved to the edge of the bathtub, sitting on it.

Leafy: How's your little hangout goin? ;P

My hands shook as I replied;

Me: He's staying for dinner, thanks to my mom.  
Me: I know she's just being nice but that's really fast to be meeting my parents.

I started to bounce my leg.

Me: I'm overthinking it, aren't I?

Leafy: Yeah, I mean, you invited him to your house what were you expecting?

Me: Idk  
Me: Do you know anything about his parents?

She took a moment to reply, which worried me;

Leafy: I've talked to him about it. Not allowed to say anything.

Me: Understandable.

Being too nervous, I didn't bother thinking about it. I shoved my phone back into my pocket, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down, looking myself in the mirror, cleaning myself up a little. I looked as if I wasn't nervous at all, I looked normal. I've always been good at distancing my expressions from how I feel, thank god. I went out into the hallway, and stood in front of my bedroom door, taking one last moment to get my mind clear, and I reached out to the handle.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 523 +  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	14. +13+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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My mom drove Balloon home a while ago, and I sat in my room, staring at the ceiling from my bed, the sunflower patterned sheets seemed to claw at my body desperately for sleep. My mind, however, was racing like a dog with pent up energy. I had as many questions as there were stars in the night sky, and I had as many answers as dogs. None. 

All this thinking about dogs and Balloon and stars, an odd combination, started to wear me out. My eyelids grew heavy when I saw gray, foggy shapes at the edges of my vision. Turning my head to see them more clearly only caused them to vanish. My medicine must be wearing off, it was getting late after all. I was still in my clothes, however, and I needed to get ready for bed. My body protested as I sat up, blinking a few times. I proceeded to get pajamas on, brush my teeth, wash my face, and turn off my lights before flopping back down onto my bed. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and opened it, blinded by the harsh light at first. Seeing a message from the group chat, I tap to open it.

Baseball: Hey guys, don't forget that the costume party is this weekend!

Nickel: i dont get why it has to be a costume party but im still showing up

Suitcase: I'll be there! 

With that being said, I put my phone down onto the nightstand and I let the quiet darkness of my room lull me to sleep.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 281 +  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	15. +14+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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~WARNING: Alcohol and Drug Use~

The night breeze whipped aggressively at my cheeks as I walked through the neighborhood, headed to Baseball's house. It was the night of the Halloween costume party, and my chest fluttered more with every inch that I got closer. It's my first time going to a big party like this, after all. I was meeting Balloon there, which made my heart pump even more. The costume I picked out wasn't much, I decided to go as a mounted deer head. I had an antler headband on, face-makeup with white spots, my hair was done to look like ears, and I had a cardboard cut out around my neck that looked like wood. I was proud of it, but not too proud that I didn't want to get it dirty. Soon enough, I had arrived.

Blaring music blasted from every open window and door. Upon listening closer, it seemed to be pop music from the 2000's era, specifically Poker Face by Lady GaGa (a favorite of mine). A few people were talking outside on the porch, red solo cups in hands. Glancing around the crowd, I couldn't see that familiar red hair, so I decided to step inside.

"Suitcase!" A voice from next to me yelled over the music when I opened the door, "I'm glad you made it!"

I looked over to see Nickel, who seemed happier than usual, and wearing a banker costume. I grinned, "Thanks! You seem in a good mood."

"Ah, yeah I enjoy the party atmosphere," He put an arm behind his neck, "but its probably the booze. You want anything?"

"If theres anything mild, I'll take that. Maybe a hard lemonade?"

"Gotcha, you sit tight, I'll be back in a moment," He gave me a finger gun, and then melted into the crowd. I leaned up next to the door, waiting for a moment before Nickel returned with two solo cups in hand. We decided to move over to the basement, where people were dancing, to meet up with Baseball. We discovered him on a couch at the side, among Knife, Microphone, and a gray-haired girl in a blue hoodie, who I didn't know. They all seemed to be, well, high off their asses. 

"Ay, BB, Suitcase is here, say hello like a gentlemen." Nickel teased, poking him.

He looked up with squinted eyes, but then it turned into a smile, "aaay Suitcase! Good to see ya!"

"Hey, Baseball!"

After that, the three of us sat and chatted for a while, Nickel and I laughing at Baseballs intoxicated rambles about sports and other subjects. The girl next to us introduced herself as Fanny, she is from another school, and is somewhat friends with Baseballs cousin who goes to that school as well. Eventually, I decided to get up and go dance. The speakers blasted Where Them Girls At by David Guetta. Well, to answer that question, I got one right here, and its me.

Time flies when your having fun, thats what they say. But time seemed to slow when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around, still dancing a bit, but I stopped when I saw that it was him. Balloon was here. My heart soared as I gave him a smile. He grinned back, grabbing my hand. We started to walk towards a couch on the other side of the dance floor, when I looked back and saw Nickel glare at us. I felt myself shudder, but I turned back to Balloon.

"Hey," He spoke louder than usual, but that was just due to the music.

"Hi, you made it!" I smiled, sitting on the couch next to him, when I noticed he was wearing his everyday striped shirt, "Wait, whats your costume?"

He pretended to act shocked, "How could you not tell, I'm a sailor!" He pointed to the small white and blue hat he had on his head. 

"I... I guess that works."

"Yeah, do you want to dance?" He asked.

"Of course, dumbass!"

~~~~~

A few hours later, Balloon ended up getting pretty wasted. More than me, I guess. I forced him to sit for a minute while I went over to Nickel, who was chatting with Baseball.

"Hey, Nickel?"

He turned, seemingly surprised, "Oh, hey! What's up?"

"I'm going to go home, Balloons pretty... out of it.. and I was going to take him home."

Nickels expression turned a bit sour for a moment, but he went back to a sickly sweet smile, "Of course, it was nice to have you here!"

"Yeah, thank you guys!" I waved, wading through the crowd back to Balloon. Though he protested, I managed to get him up the stairs and out the door, where he proceeded to fall on the grass.

"Balloon, I swear to god," I muttered, lifting him up.

"I can w-walk fine myself," He slurred his words.

I sighed, "alright then, prove it."

I carefully let him go. He waddled a few crooked steps, before nearly twisting his ankle on a pothole. I grabbed his arm before he fell, "See?"

He pouted like a child for a moment, before muttering, "Fine.."

~~~~~

I opened the door to my room, practically dragging the incapacitated red-head that stumbled beside me like he were a sack of potatoes that somehow grew legs. I let him down onto my bed, before grabbing a pile of folded blankets and heading towards the couch. I pulled the headband off from my head, and threw it onto the floor, along with the cardboard mount.

"S-Suitcase," Balloon slurred his words, "am I sleeping there?"

"Well, if you want the bed, you can have it, but-"

"Ah... nice, ok!.." He interrupted and lifted his arm, giving a weak thumbs up before flopping it back down. Balloon mumbled to himself as I made the couch more comfortable with the blankets. I then turned off the lights, and went over to the bed.

"Hey, do you want the covers?" I whispered.

"Please.." 

I lifted the corners of the comforter up and gently draped it over him, a small smile forming on his freckled face.

"Goodnight, Balloon," I turned to go to the couch, but I heard a mumble from the sheets.

"stay.."

"Hm?" I was still facing away as something wrapped around my wrist and held me back. 

"Stay." His voice was soft but stern as I spun to meet his gaze, his hand holding mine. I felt myself blush as I stood there, uncertain feelings boiling up in my chest. I nodded slightly, and next I knew, I was under the covers with him. Though my chest pounded, I fell asleep rather quickly, whether that was due to the alcohol I drank earlier, or just being so damn tired. Whatever the reason, I was out like a light.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 1156(jesus christ)+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	16. +15+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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The morning light that streamed through the windows of my room caused me to wake up. I hadn't opened my eyes yet, as I was trying my best to fall back asleep. That was until I felt warm skin brush against my back. I twisted to look over, seeing a bundle of red hair and freckles next to me. 

'What in the world...?' I was too groggy to think clearly, and I just shrugged and tried to fall back asleep. This time, however, it seemed Balloon was awake as well, and he seemed, well... panicked.

"Hrhrhgrhgrh... Good morning," I grumbled into a pillow. 

"Y-you're awake," Balloon stared at me, wide eyed, as I sat up, "uhm... what happened?"

"Hm?.."

"Did we..." he gestured with his hand, but despite him being wide awake, my brain was still crispier than a potato chip from alcohol and less than 5 hours of sleep. I squinted at him for a minute, but then I raised my eyebrows.

"...OOOOHHH, I'm stupid," I shoved a pillow in my face. Balloon smirked, but was still concerned, "No, I don't think we did. You, well, we were drunk, so I brought you here, and you wouldn't let me sleep anywhere else." 

Balloon turned a bright red, shrinking into the covers of the bed, "Ah... I-I'm sorry about that."

"No worries, drinking fucks us all up. Anyways, you want some tea?"

"Uh, no thanks, I don't drink tea."

I rolled my eyes, "alright, you just haven't had the good kind." 

I got out of bed, stretching and causing my joints to crack a bit. I reached over for my phone, reading the time as 9:30 and having tons of missed messages and calls. That's odd. Unlocking it, I soon found that the spammed messages and calls were from none other than Nickel.

Nickel: Balloon is not a good for you  
Nickel: He isn't trustworthy, he doesn't care about u  
Nickel: Hes going to hurt you, Suitcase  
Nickel: Listen to me goddammit  
Nickel: Don't fucking sleep with him  
Nickel: you're going to get hurt  
Nickel: And when u do, I'll be forced to say I told you so  
Nickel: pick up the goddamn phone  
Nickel: suitcase  
Nickel: whatever, have fun while it lasts I guess

I felt my throat clench to trap a fire that rose in my chest as I read the messages. What authority does he have over me? I made a fist.

"Suitcase, you ok?" 

I turned, seeing Balloon had gotten up out of the bed and was now leaning against the couch. I stared him in the eyes. Is Nickel right, though? The question 'what is he thinking?' spun around in my mind. I sighed, setting down the phone, "I'm alright, it's nothing," I'll deal with that later.

"If you say so," he replied, looking at me with those deep amber eyes that shone magnificently in the sunlight, "Just wanted to make sure."

I nodded sheepishly.

"Also, you still have that makeup from yesterday smudged on your face," I whipped around to a mirror, and of course I slept with the makeup on.

"Ah, shit," I murmured, getting a clean wipe to get the spots off. 

"That was a really creative costume, by the way."

I felt myself blush, "Aw, it wasn't really, I just looked it up."

Balloon then got a certain glint in his eye, "Hey remember what you said about taking compliments?"

"Oh geez.."

"You better take that compliment. Don't be a hypocrite." He teased.

"Ugh, come on let's just go downstairs," I headed for the door, but he grabbed my shoulder.

"Take the fucking compliment," He grinned.

"Noooo!"

"Do it!"

"You can't make me," I taunted, and his cheeks grew pink.

"God you're a hypocrite," he sighed, "But you're good at making costumes."

"Thank you, and now I'm going to make tea now since my brain isn't functional yet and you've distracted me quite enough for one morning."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 673+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	17. +16+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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The kettle on the stove got warmer as I stood across from Balloon, who sat on a stool and had his head propped up against his hand. He had a sleepy look in his eyes, but a soft smile and a light blush on his cheeks.

"What kind of tea are you making?" He asked.

"Just some green tea, are you sure you don't want to try some?"

I could see him think for a moment, "You know what, sure, why not."

Just as he said that, the kettle began to whistle. I opened the cupboard, grabbing two mugs and two tea bags. Setting the tea bags inside of the mug, I then grabbed the kettle, and poured hot water in, "You'll wanna wait maybe 5 minutes before taking the bag out."

"Alright," He nodded, and I slid a mug over to him.

"When are you planning on going home?"

Balloon seemed to not have thought about that yet, and he took a moment before saying, "probably after I drink this."

"Alright, I can walk with you there if you'd like. I need to go help Baseball clean up from the party, anyways."

He looked up with a bit of concern, "N-no, no, I'll walk there myself. Thank you for offering, though."

'Damn' I thought to myself. I was hoping to get out of going to Baseballs, as Nickel was also going to be there, and, judging by the texts I woke up to, he wasn't very happy with me. I shrugged, taking the tea bag out of the mug, "Ok, no problem."

"Can I drink it now?" He asked timidly. I nodded, and he went to take a sip.

A moment passed before he spoke, "...I don't think I like it. It smells better than it tastes, if I'm being honest."

"Ah, no worries, its just leaf water anyways, no big loss," I smiled.

After a few minutes of me drinking tea and us chatting, we went outside. The air was noticably sharper, and a frost had set across the grass. The sky was a light blue, and there were barely any clouds. I noticed a big pile of leaves on the lawn, my mischevous side taking note. It was a great contrast from inside. Luckily I had grabbed a jacket on my way out. However, Balloon surpressed a shiver about every 3 seconds, and his cheeks and nose grew redder from the cold.

"Balloon, I can go grab you a jacket or sweatshirt, if you want," I offered.

He nodded quickly, a shiver barely visible as he was trying to block it, "p-please." I walked back inside, going up the stairs to find a suitable sweatshirt. Thankfully we're about the same height, he's just a little heavier than me. I grab an orange and yellow tie-dyed one, and I rushed back downstairs to the door. When I opened it I was met with that freckled face.

"Wow, you really needed this, huh?" I teased. He hummed in agreement, putting the sweatshirt on. I felt my face grow warmer as I saw him wearing my sweatshirt.

"Thank you," He smiled, "lets get going, then."

I felt myself start being panicky as I nodded shyly, and we walked out the door. I glanced over at the leaf pile, trying to find a way to make him stay longer. Suddenly, it donned on me. I ran over to the pile, grabbing a fist full of wet leaves and sneaking up behind Balloon.

"Suitcase? Where'd you-"

"HAHA!" I threw the leaves at him and dashed back to the pile for more. He stumbled back a bit, leaves caught in his hair, and he grew a competitive expression. I grabbed another fist full and ran towards him. However, he was able to grab my wrist and throw the leaves back at me. I clenched my eyes, and when I looked up he was hastily grabbing wads of leaves. The rush of adrenaline caused me to run towards him, but my legs did not stop. I tackled him by accident, rolling into the pile of leaves. My back was against the ground, and through our laughter I felt his curly hair brushed up against my chin before he got onto his elbows. I felt warm despite the cool air around us. Suddenly, Balloon stopped laughing, and I felt an odd tension brewing as I opened my eyes. His face was beet red as I realized that we were mere inches away from each other. I could feel my heart rate quicken despite the fact that we were both frozen in place. It felt like years before one of us even moved. Balloon carefully moved himself to lie next to me instead.

"S-sorry," was all he said. I felt every cell of my body tingling with anticipation and nervousness.

"I-It's alr-right," I whispered. My chest was pounding so hard, he could probably hear it. I tried to suppress every urge I had and just lay there, but eventually one slipped through the gaps. I slowly reached over and grabbed his hand. He jumped, as though I shook him from a daze.

"We... We should start walking."

"Y-yeah."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 883+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	18. +17+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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My mind was left racing as I stood in the shadow of Baseballs house. It was now quiet, in stark contrast to last night, but who knows how long that would last. Balloon and I had parted ways about 5 minutes ago, yet despite how recently I had seen him, part of me missed his warm presence. Despite this, I was more focused on what consequences I would face with Nickel. His texts were enough to set of warning sirens in my brain, but having to face him after that sent shivers down my spine. I hate getting into arguments, but I'm cursed with the inability to keep my mouth shut when I'm frustrated or angry. I just hope that Baseball would be on my side if things did get nasty. I collected myself, walked up to the patio and knocked on the door.

"The doors open!" I heard Baseballs slightly rough voice from inside, and I turned the chilly doorknob.

"Hey, Baseball! It's me, Suitcase."

"H-Hey! You're even here before Nickel," I walk in to find him standing with a stack of assorted party items in his arms, clearly struggling to carry it all. I felt a pang of relief at the fact that my fear was not going to be realized quite yet, but I was here to help Baseball, that's what matters now. I had to crane my neck back slightly to meet his brown-eyed gaze.

"Woah, do you need help carrying that?"

"N-No, no, I can handle it," He smiled with gritted teeth, "Besides, I need to get rid of the evidence by tonight, my parents decided to come home early."

"Oh, well shit, I should get started then." Baseball went over to a black garbage bag, lowering the armful of items in carefully.

He then turned back to me, "Yeah, there's still garbage on the floors and stuff, so if you could help with that, then we can get the vacuum going."

It didn't take too long for the two of us to get the floor cleared of the debris of poor judgements and questionable substances. However, as we were getting the vacuum out of the closet, we heard a knock at the door. My stomach dropped once again and the hair on my neck stood up, as I knew who was on the other side of that door.

"The doors unlocked, Nickel!" Baseball yelled the same as he did to me earlier. The door opened with a cold draft, and in he comes. He had a sour look on his face, more than usual that is. Almost immediately, his icy-blue eyes stared daggers into me, which was intimidating despite his shorter stature. He stood in front of the two of us.

"Well, look who showed up. I thought you would've been under the sheets with _him_ still," His voice was laced with the same sarcastic venom, but it packed more of a punch now than ever before.

I felt my throat clench, and I answered honestly, "I did _not_ sleep with him, Nickel."

"Bull- _fucking_ -shit," He growled.

"Jesus Christ, would you two knock it off-"

" _Shut it,_ " Nickel stared at Baseball for a moment, and it seemed like his expression may have lightened for a moment, but he quickly turned back to me, eyes as cold as ever "I've warned you about Balloon thousands of times already, Suitcase, and still you go gallivanting off to _who-knows-where_ to do _you-know-what_ when you've known him for a few months now. You're being a fucking _slut!_ "

"You have never provided any context for those warnings, and even if I did sleep with him, it's _MY_ body and _MY_ choice to do so. You have _NO_ control over me!"

"You need context, huh?"Nickel stepped closer to me, a spark of concern laced his eyes, but he was more furious than anything, "Fine, I'll tell you why no one likes him, why everyone avoids him. Balloon put us through _hell_ , Suitcase. He was a bully, he was an asshole. He would boss everyone around. And then he acts like nothing happened and says he wants to change. Don't tell me you think that isn't suspicious, because it is."

"Well..." I looked down at the floor for a moment, "Well, how am I supposed to know if _you're_ telling the truth?" I stomped forward, Nickel clearly surprised as he flinched, "I wasn't here when that happened, I've only seen the good in him so far!"

Baseball piped in, "He was a bit of a jerk, if I'm being honest."

I stood there, shocked at Baseball. Does he really just listen to whatever Nickel says? I sighed, "You need to let go of the past. Let's stop fighting and just get cleaning."

"...Fine," Nickel suddenly grabbed my arm firmly, staring at me with an expression I couldn't quite read, "but you need to stop hanging out with him. He's just going to hurt you like he hurt me, Baseball, and everyone else."

"Whatever, dad," I smirked, prying my arm from his grip. Baseball gave me a chuckle, but Nickel didn't find it funny.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 850+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	19. +18+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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The mid-November air was chill and stale, it was the kind of air that made breathing through your mouth difficult. The trees were turning from vibrant reds and yellows to bare and brown. I had decided to walk to school instead of biking that day, as now I had to walk outside of school daily for my gym class, and log my times and distances. Balloon, who was coming over to my house again today, grinned and said that it wasnt a problem for him to walk. So we did, and in the silent moments of our conversations my mind took me back to all the experiences I had with him before. I remembered a few days ago, in science class when we were doing a group project. We stared at the chemical reaction happening before us, and we both turned to look at each other at the same time, a shy smile creeping onto Balloons face. I remembered last week, when we had the leaf-fight, how he looked despite the bits of brown leaf tangled in his red hair. I snapped back to reality with the thought, 'I have really fallen head over heels for him, haven't I?' We were walking along the sidewalks when Balloon decided to skip up ahead of me.

"Hey, I want to show you this cool spot I found the other day," He tugged the sleeve of his puffy maroon jacket, "if you aren't in a hurry or anything."

"Sure, we can do that!" I nodded, following him into a split in the bushes. 

The trees stood proudly above us, turning the sunlight that broke through into various colors. The leaves that covered the path crunched and crinkled underneath our feet. We continued chatting and walking, but Balloon was becoming more quiet, so I took over for a bit, spewing random thoughts that came into my head. Eventually, he spoke up again.

"This way, were almost there," He grabbed my hand and lightly tugged it towards another path. The contact made me blush a bit, but I nodded and followed him once more. 

The trees gave way for a sky that was newly painted orange. Clouds covered the sky behind us, but we were too focused on the view in front of us. It was a clearing, at the edge of a cliff. Balloon gestured to a log that seemed to serve as a bench. Peeking over the edge of the cliff was the town, which was starting to light up in preparation for evening events. 

"This place is beautiful, Balloon," I stared in awe at the landscape that was laid out before me as I lowered myself onto the fallen tree. 

"Isn't it?" 

I nodded, and he paused.

"I'm surprised the sun is already starting to set, but I suppose it is almost winter, its bound to start getting darker," I noted, before feeling a warmth on my hand.

"Suitcase," I turned my head, first looking at him, and then at my hand, intertwined with his. I looked back up, seeing his brown eyes fixated on mine. I felt a lump in my throat, and my chest started to drum a familiar beat. We stared for what felt like an eternity, until I felt a drop of something on my arm. 

"Balloon," I broke my gaze, looking up, "I think it's going to rain, Balloon."

"O-oh," He looked up as well, "We should find some shelter." 

More raindrops began to fall, and he stood up, holding out his hand and adding, "quickly."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 607+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	20. +19+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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We began dashing to find some shelter. My heart rate was fast already, the running made it worse. I used my jacket as a temporary umbrella, the cold water soaking into my shirt. Soon, though, we found a small divet created by a fallen trees roots, which made a cave just big enough for the two of us. I crawled in, Balloon behind me.

We sat there, panting among the dirt, rocks, and moss. We were pressed together quite a bit, sharing the moisture that had soaked into our clothes, but it was enough shelter to stay, at least for a moment. I giggled to myself about the situation. The rain pounded around us, louder than our heartbeats. Balloon seemed frustrated, though.

"You look upset," I said, "Whats wrong?"

His expression turned to surprise, and an anxious feeling wafted over him, "I-it wasn't supposed to rain. I-I wanted to... spend time with you, and it just had to rain, didn't it?" He chuckled.

"Well, you're spending time with me now, right? It's just... different."

He repeated me, "different..."

The sound of the rain filled in the silence, and Balloon looked down in thought. He then spoke.

"Suitcase, this isn't how I was planning it would be, but," his hands fidgeted, and it seemed like he tried to speak but the words didn't come out. He put a hand on his forehead, fingers running through his hair, and then looked me in the eyes. They were filled with nervousness, stress, and longing. I could feel the anxiety in him, and it hurt. I tried to smile, to comfort him.

"It's ok, you're safe with me."

He sighed, his hand shakily moved towards my face. I flinched at first, but I let it fall onto my cheek. It felt as though time had frozen, and yet was moving so fast.

"I-I... y-you're different."

He leaned towards me, though it was the smallest amount, it felt like he had just leaped across the moon for me. 

"Y-you make me feel different, like... I can be a good person because of you."

"Balloon, you've always been a good person."

He frowned, "you don't know that, though."

"Yes, but I believe it to be true."

He tensed up, "...thank you."

The storm thundered around us. I leaned towards him, as he cupped my face. The air between us went still. He froze where he was, about 3 inches from me, studying my face with his round, earthy eyes. I couldn't take it anymore. I closed the distance, pressing my lips against his.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 444+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


	21. +20+

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】   
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The air reeked of grease and, faintly, burnt rubber as I skateboarded down the sidewalk. Baseball was behind me, slightly struggling to balance due to him being sort of new to skateboards. He was learning quick, though, and he definitely had potential. We were headed for the abandoned skate park, like we do after his usual practices.

"You did good out on the field today, man."

"Thanks, Nickel, but you say that every practice," his smoother voice spoke behind me.

"Well, am I wrong?"

He shrugged, "I don't suppose so."

"Exactly, I'm never wrong," I said with a smirk, as we arrived in front of the chain-link fence. The hole in it got bigger each time we went in and out.

"I've seen you in history class, Nickel, you get shit wrong all the time," Baseball crawls through the whole in the fence.

"History sucks, ok?" I follow behind him, "It's all 'war-this' and 'war-that', where's the non-war history?"

"Sure, whatever."

Baseball set his backpack down onto the cracked pavement, setting his skateboard gently beneath him and putting one foot on it. He was quite the gentle giant, believe it or not.

"I'm gonna sit out today, my backs been killing me ever since Tuesday's hard-flip attempt."

"Alright, no biggie," Baseball responded, adjusting his pale hair from under his red-brimmed hat. He began riding around, before attempting a 180 no comply. He ended up missing stepping back on the board, and it rolled away in front of him.

He chuckled, "yeah, I'm not really feeling it today either."

"That's fine, do you wanna just look at memes or something?"

"Sure, do you have any weed?"

This was a somewhat unusual request. Yes, I did have some on me, but he usually only asks for it when somethings up. A tingle of concern bubbled inside of me, one of the few things that I only feel around him... and now Suitcase I suppose.

"Yeah, I do. You wanna talk?

"Maybe," he responded bluntly, sitting next to me on the edge of the ramp. I unzipped my bag, grabbing my vape pen. The cartridge had some juice left, so I didn't bother getting a new one. I took a hit, and then passed it to him.

"Thanks," a few white wisps escaped from his nose.

"Was it something with your parents again?"

He nodded, taking another hit.

"Jesus Christ your parents suck."

"Well you don't have to say it twice, that's for sure," he gave a small laugh, "but it's also my cousin."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, he came to me and told me that he started dating a trans girl, and I'm worried."

"Oh really? I hope she's a nice catch for good ol' TB, but why are you worried?"

Baseball seemed taken aback, "I.. I'm not sure, mostly about my parents reaction if they found out I suppose."

"Yeah, that makes sense," I sat for a moment, thinking. Would now be the best time to tell him, since we're on the subject? I shook the thought away, no, not yet. However, I did decide to ask him about it.

"Have you every questioned your sexuality, Baseball?" I decided to ask, taking another hit.

He fiddled with his hands, "no, have you?"

"A few times, but not recently," I shrugged, tossing a pebble away, "you wanna go get some food or something?"

"Sure, I'm a bit hungry anyways."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)  
+Word Count: 584+  
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ ｄｏｗｎ．．．】


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